Team sets program record for longest conference home unbeaten streak
Texas State played rival Louisiana to a draw last Sunday as the Bobcats tied the Cajuns 1-1 in conference play.
The Bobcats improved their overall record to 72-4 and their conference record to 4-0-2 to remain on top of the conference standings with 14 points. Texas State also set a new program record for the longest unbeaten home streak in conference play at 14 games.
“They had a good game plan. I think they defended very well,” Head Coach Steve Holeman said. “A lot of numbers behind the ball and it was tough to break them down. [Going] directly wasn’t going to work because they’re so good in the air centrally in the back, and we had a tough time kind of getting around the corners. We changed our system a couple of times to try to break them down.”
“It was good that we showed some resilience and broke them through to equalize. But we knew that what they were going to bring, they were gonna be really good on the counter and they got us one. It’s unfortunate, [Victoria Meza] fell to the ground they capitalized and they took advantage of it. So, yeah, not the result we were looking for but we just got to move forward.”
The Cajuns struck first in the first half, scoring a goal in the 13th minute to go up 1-0 over the Bobcats.
The Bobcats were held to just three shots in the first half with two being shots-on-goal.
Going into the second half, Texas State looked to make second half adjustments to break through the Cajun defense.
“They played a little bit of a different system, a very defensive posture,” Holeman said. “So we had to find a little more success on either of the flanks. Things were opened up in the middle then we tried that, and that didn’t work. But then it’s like, ‘Where do we put the extra number? How do we get behind their backline? How do we create opportunities?’ So those were all challenges that we had to deal with for the second half.”
Looking to score the game-tying goal, graduate student defender Kennley Bradley knew it was a matter of time before the Bobcats could answer back after switching up the game in the second half.
“We switched up our formation, so we played in a 3-6-1 instead,” Bradley said. “It is just to allow us to have more numbers in the attack. Honestly, it was just a matter of we knew we needed to score.”
The game plan worked for the Bobcats as Texas State got off 10 shots in the second half with four being on-goal.
In the 74th minute, the Bobcats scored the equalizer. Attacking the defense, junior midfielder Victoria Meza made the long crossing pass which found sophomore midfielder Helen Alormenu who then scored the goal on the header to make it a 1-1 game.
Louisiana made one last attempt to retake the lead in the 87th minute but were denied by freshman Brooklyn Escobar, who made the save to seal the tie.
Texas State goes back on the road Sunday as the Bobcats look to maintain their lead in the conference standings against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
Coastal Carolina enters the matchup with a 3-45 overall record and a 01-5 conference record. In their last game, the Chanticleers tied the Georgia State Panthers 11.
Kickoff for Texas State-Coastal Carolina is set for Sunday at 6 p.m.
Senior Mady Soumare battles for possession in the Bobcats 1-1 draw against the Cajuns. Texas State set a program record for longest home conference unbeaten streak at 14 games. Photo submitted by Texas State Athletics
